Bahá’í Administration

Shoghi Effendi

Regarding association with Oriental travelers and residents in
the United States and Canada, I desire to emphasize afresh the vital
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necessity for the exercise in these days of the greatest vigilance
and reserve, prudence and caution, on the part of the American
believers in their dealings with them, either in an official or private
capacity, whether in business transactions or for purely religious
purposes. As the Movement grows in prestige, fame and influence,
as the ambitions, malice and ill-will of strangers and enemies correspondingly
wax greater, it becomes increasingly important for
every individual and Spiritual Assembly to be on their guard lest
they fall innocent victims of the evil designs of the malevolent, the
self-seeking and greedy.

Touching the publication of articles and pamphlets bearing on
the controversial and political issues of the day, I desire to remind
my dearly-beloved fellow-workers that at the present stage when
the Cause is still in its infancy, any minute and detailed analysis by
the friends of subjects that are in the forefront of general discussion
would often be misconstrued in certain quarters and give rise to
suspicions and misunderstandings that would react unfavorably on
the Cause. They would tend to create a misconception of the real
object, the true mission, and the fundamental character of the Bahá’í
Faith. We should, while endeavoring to uphold loyally and expound
conscientiously our social and moral principles in all their
essence and purity, in all their bearings upon the divers phases of
human society, insure that no direct reference or particular criticism
in our exposition of the fundamentals of the Faith would tend to
antagonize any existing institution, or help to identify a purely
spiritual movement with the base clamorings and contentions of
warring sects, factions and nations. We should strive in all our
utterances to combine the discretion and noble reticence of the
wise with the frankness and passionate loyalty of the ardent advocate
of an inspiring Faith. While refusing to utter the word that
would needlessly alienate or estrange any individual, government
or people, we should fearlessly and unhesitatingly uphold and assert
in their entirety such truths the knowledge of which we believe is
vitally and urgently needed for the good and betterment of mankind.

The copy of the minutes of the 1925 Bahá’í Convention has been
received and, despite the pressure of work, read with deep pleasure
and keen interest.